UK biotech calls for "mass market" citizens' innovation funds

The outlook for the UK economy remains flat and innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to face a squeeze on funding, says the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA), which today publishes a new report detailing a scheme to enable the British public to support the innovative businesses that will drive the nation's future economic growth.

In the report, titled Citizens' Innovation Funds - Engaging the public with UK innovation, new figures estimate that £300 million ($476.5 million) of investment could be unlocked a year from the scheme creating over 1,500 new jobs in the knowledge economy.

The introduction of Citizens' Innovation Funds (CIFs), which are a tax-advantaged investment scheme, would unleash the patriotic potential of the general public by offering an opportunity to invest in innovative UK companies, says the BIA. The CIF concept is based on the successful French scheme - Fonds Communs de Placements dans l'Innovation (FCPI) - which has raised over 6 billion euros ($7.56 billion) since 1997 and invested in more than 1,000 innovative companies.